I have thoughts and I like to organize them
Updated version is my note-taking system which is more current
I think it is interesting to notice patterns in the types of thoughts I have in response to experiences. Here is the framework I use to organize the my different levels of thought, roughly in the order that they are dealt with in my brain:
- I have a Media Collection and Quote Library
- Thoughts are notes and reflections regarding a particular experience, piece of media, interaction, or lesson.
- Themes are recurring threads noticed throughout experiences, media, interactions, and learnings.
- Sets are groupings of Themes. The main ones I use are Media, Values, and Identity, and this primarily describes how I approach the theme or see how the theme relates to me
- Concepts are ideas and objects that have themes, subjects, or
projectsassociated with them. They are usually pieces of a model of belief or an argument about something. - Distillations are refined snippets which are the result of reflection on sets, themes, thoughts, and concepts. They typically summarize (or define) a belief or conclusion based on the current understanding of a topic.
- Writings are exactly what they sound like - writings based on the sets, themes, concepts, thoughts, and distillations that I have.
I like this system because it allows a natural progression and development of thought to flow from inklings to beliefs, but also allows me to notice and analyze the route I take to reach conclusions at each step of the way.
If you are reading this, you probably also have thoughts. Hopefully, they are ones that you like to engage with. I encourage you to create a system of navigating those thoughts if you have not done so already.